I do not know what this says about me, but the fact I was heading to the site of the tragic Oct. 1, 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting did not register until my cab driver from McCarron International Airport said something unprompted.

Sadly, I believe it says we have too many of these catastrophic events in our society that they all start to blend together as the memories of the past ones are replaced with the most recent.

I placed my belongings in my hotel room at the nearby Luxor Hotel and walked over to the Mandalay Bay Hotel for the start of the 2018 NFPA Conference and Expo. As I walked through Mandalay Bay, where not even a year ago Stephen Paddock murdered 58 people, I did not expect that the NFPA show would tackle the subject beyond paying its respects to the fallen, their families and friends. I did not see how an association dedicated to protecting lives and property from the dangers of fires can play a role protecting against the actions of a madman.

Boy, was I wrong. NFPA President Jim Pauley — make sure to see Page 40 for full coverage of the 2018 NFPA Conference & Expo — stood in front of a packed room for his yearly speech at the opening session of the NFPA Expo and tackled it head-on.

“Our brave first responders have to respond to these active shooter situations more frequently,” he said. “These events have prompted a call from the responder community saying we need a more holistic approach to better plan, respond and recover from these events.”

About a minute later, Pauley added, “Each and every one of you in this room has a role in fire and life safety.”

What role does a fire-protection, plumbing and/or mechanical engineer play in preventing these events? Clearly, on the macro scale our industry can’t stop a madman. But, where it does play a role is ensuring its designs for emergency situations are top-notch. As Pauley stated, the first responders to these situations need every available resource to help save lives.

So fire-sprinkler system product selection and designs have to be top-notch in case of a fire or if it’s needed during any situation, access to water outside the building, etc., have to be top of mind. These are obvious needs in the day-to-day of a building and in any design, but if reading this column and hearing the words of Pauley and the first responders puts a spotlight on serious situations, then it’s worth it.

Finally in his address, Pauley talked about the recent launch of the NFPA 3000 standard entitled “Standard for Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response.” He pointed out it was created to help communities respond to these events. It goes beyond fire, but I suggest taking a look at this new standard and see where it might fit in your work, or at the very least, where it fits in the overall industry.

We live in a world where new dangers seem to be coming out of the woodwork. We now have to think beyond fire, water pathogens and other typical issues. Our industry’s job is to protect the public and its health, but the scope has grown so much wider.

This article was originally titled “Looking at a wider landscape” in the July 2018 print edition of PM Engineer.